Protect your bike with a GPS tracker

Tens of thousands of motorcycles are stolen every year in the United States. This is clearly a cause for concern for motorcycle enthusiasts and riders are looking for ways to protect their beloved bikes. Motorcycle owners have multiple options when it comes keep their bikes safer, ranging from disc locks to alarms to sophisticated GPS tracking systems.

However, the reality of the situation is that if a thief wants the bike, they will get it, by hook or by crook, and only one of these options affords a much better chance of recovering the motorcycle once stolen.

The disc lock is the cheapest and easiest option, but also the easiest to defeat, as well as being somewhat of an annoyance that can lead to damage if not removed before attempting to ride away. It only prevents a bike from being pushed around, but is useless against a group of thieves that can simply pick the bike up and load it into a cargo van or pickup truck. Thieves with fewer friends have been known to unscrew the brake disc itself, allowing the bike to be rolled easily, or use an angle grinder to cut the lock right off.

Alarms are a slightly easier to use option, but, similar to the disc lock, do not prevent the bike from being quickly loaded into a vehicle and driven away before the owner can do anything about it. More advanced alarms feature motion detection and paging, giving the owner slightly more time to try and prevent a theft, but only afford a few extra seconds of reaction time for something to be done.

The most advanced option, and the one most likely to result in the motorcycle being recovered, is a GPS tracking system, such as those from Monimoto. While a bike can be loaded and taken away in seconds, being able to track the location of the motorcycle once it is missing gives the owner a fighting chance at getting their ride back.

Case in point, a New York City resident was able to recover their beloved BMW S1000 XR when it was lifted outside their home on a cold January night. After having three previous bikes stolen, Jason decided to install a Monimoto tracker, which alerted him that his bike was being moved. Rushing outside, he was too late to immediately catch the thief or thieves, but police responded quickly enough that they were able to track the location of the bike through two boroughs, finding the BMW parked on a back street in the Bronx. While the thieves were nowhere to be seen, Jason was at least able to get his bike back immediately, thanks to a swift police response and his Monimoto GPS tracker.

The Monimoto tracker consists of a GPS tracking device, roughly the size of a pack of gum at about 3.6" x 1.5", that contains a rechargeable battery, an eSIM card that enables a cellular connection, and a separate key fob that disarms the GPS tracker when the rider is close enough to the bike. The tracker also includes a motion detection system, as well as the ability to use nearby WiFi networks to improve location accuracy, especially if the GPS signal is weak or nonexistent.

Easily mounted out of sight on the motorcycle with the included, releasable zip ties, the unit is IP68-rated for full water and dust resistance. The tracker can also be mounted to bicycles by utilizing a 3D printed bracket that mounts to water bottle mounts, with Monimoto providing the CAD file free of charge so that customers can have the mount 3D printed themselves.

An internal battery lasts up to 12 months per charge, so there is no need to continually replace batteries. The key fob uses a CR2032 coin cell battery that does require occasional replacement, similar to any automobile key fob.

Monimoto's GPS tracker utilizes the LTE-M (LTE Cat-M1) cellular network, and as such requires a SIM card and subscription to operate, in this case an embedded eSIM that includes two months of free connectivity. The subscription is $49 per year, and the system works internationally, with a list of supported countries available on the Monimoto website.

The system calls the owner's phone immediately upon detection of unauthorized movement, affording a faster response than simple notifications or SMS. The tracker automatically self-arms once the key fob is a certain distance away and actually does an additional check for the key fob proximity if movement is detected, helping to eliminate false alarms. If the bike is being moved, the tracker continually relays its GPS position to the user's Monimoto app. If the movement stops, the user will receive a last-known location alert within about 30 minutes.

Riders who want the best chance at recovering their stolen bikes rely on the Monimoto tracker, because if a thief wants your bike, chances are, they will get it. Whether or not they keep it is another story. For more information, visit Monimoto.com.

NOTE: This is sponsored content produced in partnership with Monimoto